VOA慢速英语2020 美国宇航员回顾龙飞船重返地球之旅

The two American astronauts who recently completed an historic space mission have described details about their electrifying¹ return to Earth.

两名最近完成了一趟历史性太空飞行任务的美国宇航员描述了他们激动人心的重返地球时的细节。

On May 30, NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley became the first astronauts to launch from American soil since the last space shuttle flight in 2011.

5月30日，美国国家航天局宇航员罗伯特·贝肯和道格拉斯·赫利成为了2011年航天飞机最后一次飞行以来，首批从美国本土发射升空的宇航员。

The launch was historic because it was the first time a private company launched astronauts into orbit. American company SpaceX built and operated the Crew Dragon capsule that carried the astronauts to the International Space Station.

这次发射极具历史意义，因为这是首次由一家私营公司将宇航员送入太空。美国太空探索技术公司建造并运营“龙飞船”，将宇航员运送到了国际空间站。

Behnken and Hurley ended their 64-day mission on August 3, when they splashed down in the Gulf² of Mexico off the coast of Florida.

贝肯和赫利于8月3日结束了他们为期64天的任务，在佛罗里达州海岸附近的墨西哥湾溅落。

The two recently offered their thoughts on the mission and the flight home during a news conference at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

在德克萨斯州休斯顿市美国宇航局约翰逊航天中心举行的新闻发布会上，两人最近发表了他们关于这次飞行任务和返回地球的想法。

It was the first splashdown landing for NASA astronauts in 45 years. SpaceX said it had provided Behnken and Hurley with video and audio of past splashdowns so they would not be surprised during the flight.

这是45年来美国宇航员的首次溅落。美国太空探索科技公司表示，它曾经向贝肯和赫利提供了过去溅落的视频和音频，这样他们在飞行中就不会感到惊讶。

Behnken described the excitement the two experienced during the tense final minutes of the trip home. "Once we descended³ a little bit into the atmosphere, the Dragon really, it came alive," he said.

贝肯描述了两人返回地球最后时刻所经历的激动。他说：“一旦我们刚进入大气层，龙飞船就活过来了。”

Behnken was speaking about the moment the Crew Dragon began firing rocket thrusters to slow the spacecraft as it passed through Earth's atmosphere.

贝肯说的是龙飞船在穿越地球大气层时，开始点燃火箭推进器以减缓飞船速度的那一刻。

He said the thrusters guiding the spacecraft were firing almost continuously. "It doesn't sound like a machine, it sounds like an animal coming through the atmosphere, with all the puffs⁴ that are happening from the thrusters and the atmospheric⁵ noise."

他说，引导飞船的推进器几乎一直在喷火。他说：“它听上去不像是一台机器，而是像一种动物在穿越大气层，所有的喷气声都是由推进器和大气噪声引起的。”

The astronauts experienced 4.2 Gs - or 4.2 times the force of Earth's gravity - as they descended.

宇航员在降落时经历了4.2个地球重力。

When Crew Dragon slowed to about 563 kilometers an hour, the first of two sets of parachutes were deployed⁶, quickly slowing the capsule even more. Behnken described that period as feeling "very much like getting hit in the back of the chair with a baseball bat."

当龙飞船减速到每小时563公里时，两组降落伞中的第一组开始展开，迅速使太空船更多减速。贝肯形容这段时期感觉就像是被棒球棍击打椅背。

Hurley said he was "almost kind of speechless" at how well the capsule performed. He called the whole mission "flawless" – or perfect.

赫利表示，他对太空舱的完美表现“几乎无话可说。”他称整个任务“完美无缺。”

A recovery team waited for the capsule's splashdown off the Florida coast. The biggest surprise of the mission came just after the splashdown. Close to 25 pleasure boats rushed toward the capsule, ignoring requests for the public to stay away. This put themselves, the astronauts and the recovery team at risk.

一支救援队在佛罗里达海岸附近等待着龙飞船的这次溅落。这次任务的最大意外发生在溅落之后。近25艘游船冲向太空舱，完全无视公众远离的要求。这将他们自己、宇航员以及救援队都置入了危险当中。

Hurley said the capsule's windows were badly burned from re-entry, so he and Behnken could not see the other boats in the area.

赫利表示，在重新进入大气层时，太空舱的窗户被严重烧毁，所以他和贝肯都没有看到该地区的其它船只。

He added that while he understood the people on the boats just wanted to be part of the event, he did have concerns for safety. "We'll have to take a look at it because it just can't happen (again) like it did before," Hurley said.

他还说，尽管他知道船上的人们只是想成为这次大事件的一部分，但是他确实对安全性表示担忧。赫利表示：“我们都必须注意，因为再也不能这样了。”

Behnken said he does not think it would be a good idea for people to try to get close to future splashdown landings. "We take extreme precautions to make sure it is safe and we do that for a reason."

贝肯表示，他认为人们试图接近未来的溅落并不是什么好主意。他说，“我们采取极端预防措施以确保安全，这是有原因的。”

I'm Bryan Lynn.

我是布莱恩·林恩。

1 electrifying   

v.使电气化( electrify的现在分词 )；使兴奋

参考例句：

• The dancers gave an electrifying performance. 舞蹈演员们的表演激动人心。
• The national orchestra gave an electrifying performance of classic music. 国家交响乐团举行了一次古典音乐的震撼性演出。 来自辞典例句

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

4 puffs   

n.吸( puff的名词复数 )；（烟斗或香烟的）一吸；一缕（烟、蒸汽等）；（呼吸或风的）呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• We sat exchanging puffs from that wild pipe of his. 我们坐在那里，轮番抽着他那支野里野气的烟斗。 来自辞典例句
• Puffs of steam and smoke came from the engine. 一股股蒸汽和烟雾从那火车头里冒出来。 来自辞典例句

5 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

6 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。